She
by inntrigue
Summary: "But God forbid she ever stay in Paris to pine for that idiot in the three-piece suits." Arthur/OC, A/A, and Ari/Eames. Inception one-shot.


Arthur speaks to Sofia at the funeral.  
He tells her she is beautiful,  
That he loves her,  
And that she is everything that he has wanted.

He tells her that he is leaving,  
Leaving for Paris.

Leaving for the Eiffel Tower, bad coffee,  
And French hospitality.

_Only for work_,  
He promises.

She knows that he is lying.  
She knows that he is lying because  
She loves him.

And she sees the grief that wrenches its way  
throughout him even as he hunches over the coffin.

_I love you, Arthur.  
_She wants to reach out and kiss him,  
but knows that she could no longer have

His lips on hers.

* * *

Arthur decides that he must get drunk.  
He takes three shots at a local bar,  
Decides it isn't enough, and  
takes another five.

For once his tolerance to alcohol is not a comfort.

He fucks a barmaid  
In a bathroom stall,  
where he still can barely breathe  
and the event from the day is now getting hazy.

He would have stayed the night,  
collapsed over a table,  
but Cobb finds him and  
drags him out cursing and swearing.

_What the fuck is wrong with you? _  
Cobb wakes him up with a glass of cold water.

He splutters,  
wipes his face,  
and recalls the almost-forgotten  
ache of a hangover.

He shakes his head,  
stumbles for the bathroom.

_Cobb would understand,  
_His logical side argues.  
_But I don't want his sympathy.  
_and it is left at that.

* * *

He's sober again.  
He hates it,  
and is waiting  
for Cobb to leave just so that  
he can get back to his vodka.

_I've got to get back to the kids.  
_Arthur nods his head.  
_My flight leaves tonight.  
__Please take care of yourself._

He attempts a smile.  
A pat on the back is granted,  
and a firm handshake.

Cobb pulls him into a hug.

He is surprised,  
but returns the gesture.

Cobb breaks apart,  
And before the door closes,  
his blue eyes darken.

_Did you let Ariadne leave as easily? _

* * *

Ariadne hates him.

He's always been a statue.  
A puppet of no emotion.

_You didn't look like this when you screamed my name.  
_She wants to hurt him,  
hurt him like he hurt her.

He doesn't even flinch.

_I'm _leaving_ Arthur.  
_he looks politely down at his coffee.

_I never asked you to leave. _

She grits her teeth.  
_I don't want to be your second-best. _

He looks up at her for the first time,  
His beautiful brown eyes cloudy.  
_You aren't a second-best._

_Don't screw with me, Arthur.  
_She gets up to leave.

_You know you don't love him.  
_He stares at her right in the eye.  
Saying the one thing that she has feared.

_But _he loves me_, Arthur.  
And that's something _you'll_ never be able to do. _

* * *

Arthur finds himself at her tomb,  
traces his fingers over her name,  
and sets down white roses.  
_Your favourite kind._

He rests his head against  
the cold stone,  
beats his closed fists against it.

_Why, why her? _

Why?

* * *

Eames notices that she is distracted.  
Her usually alert eyes,  
wandering and uneasy.

_Something wrong, love?_

_I'm fine._

He knows she is lying.  
He knows because he loves her.  
He knows that she doesn't love him back,  
But God forbid she ever stay in Paris  
to pine for that idiot in the three-piece suits.

_I love you.  
_He kisses her on the cheek.

She smiles weakly.  
_Thank you._

She has never said "I love you" back.

* * *

It is two in the morning,  
and he is still at the grave.  
She watches him silently.  
_Oh, Arthur._

She watches him cry.  
All her life, she had never seen him cry.

Now she does.

And for what?  
For a girl that was so imperfect,  
So completely unworthy  
Of his good looks and gentlemanly mannerisms.

_You are the only one I loved.  
_He speaks against the cold stone.

_We never made sense, everyone hated us together.  
_Her throat runs dry.  
No words can escape.

_We were a whole. I was a half. You were the other.  
_Her shoulders heave.  
She cries with him.

_Do you remember that night? When I told you I loved you? I never said that to anyone else, and I thought I would cry when you said it back. _

The world is cruel, she thinks.  
And she closes her eyes because she can no longer watch.

* * *

They sit in the airport,  
Ariadne's navy scarf the only point of contact.

_There's a brilliant company that wants to employ you.  
_He tries to break the silence,  
laces his hands in hers.

_I'm excited.  
_She sounds everything but.

_Do you want to –-  
_He stops when he sees her tears.  
They're staining her beautiful face,  
and she is making no attempt to brush them away.

_I'm sorry, Eames.  
_She turns to him,  
Buries her face in his neck.  
_But I can't go with you._

* * *

Ariadne brings flowers.  
She supposes it is only suitable.  
White roses, the kind he always loved.

She finds him asleep on the ground,  
His white collared shirt stained,  
His eyes red.

She places the bouquet down.  
_Arthur._

He awakes quickly.  
_Ariadne? I thought you left._

_I couldn't leave you here like this._

And she hugs him,  
Feels his tall frame collapse in her arms.

_You're still my best friend.  
__Best friends don't leave on each other._

_What about Eames?  
_Arthur pulls away for one second,  
Ever so sensitive.

_He'll understand. _

There is a silence,  
Where they stand, arms linked,  
And just watch the roses,  
Watch their petals blow in the wind.

_She was an amazing girl.  
_She doesn't want to deny the obvious.

_She was perfect for you. _

_She's gone now.  
_His voice breaks.

_That doesn't make her a different person. _

Ariadne bends over the stone plate,  
and then kneels.

_"Sofia, if you're out there, I promise I'll take care of Arthur. He loves you more than anything. Just so that you know that."_

And then she stands up again,  
laces her fingers in his,  
and they turn away slowly.

* * *

Sofia watches.

She knows that Ariadne will love him as she did.  
She knows that it will be good for him.  
She loves him enough to let him go.

_Take care of yourself._

And then she leaves.


End file.
